


He Loved Me

by Shining_Friendship



Category: The Spanish Princess (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lord Stafford & COA are soulmates, Short One Shot, Slight addition to 2x08: Peace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27788011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shining_Friendship/pseuds/Shining_Friendship
Summary: A very slight tweak to the fireside spat between Henry & Catherine after she informs him of her latest miscarriage
Relationships: Catherine of Aragon/Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	He Loved Me

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. All rights belong to Emma Frost, Matthew Graham, STARZ, etc.

Catherine jumps after she watches Henry throw a glass into the roaring fireplace, partially out of fear, partially out of anguish.

"You stand before me," the King of England bellows, "and you tell me that _another_ son of mine is dead?"

Once more, glass shatters against the flames as the Queen lowers her head in contempt, unable to answer him.

"What demon are you?" Henry demands to know. "How should I bear this?"

"How should I?" Catherine shoots back, which surprised him.

Henry removed his hand from the mantle of the fireplace and walked towards her. He studied his wife, taking in the state of her current condition and something suddenly dawned on him.

"You're not cramped in pain." He forcibly opened her red robe and saw that her white nightgown was spotless. "There's no blood."

"How long have you kept this from me?" Henry presses on, his patience growing thinner by the minute. "When did you kill him?"

"I did not _kill_ him!"

"You carried him, so _when_?"

Catherine fought back the urge to cry again, her arms in a defensive pose, her mouth closed tight. Henry walked backwards, unconsciously giving himself space to think, and tried to conceive when the miscarriage could have taken place. He turned around, looking upon her shivering form, and sat down with his empty silver goblet.

"Was it brought about by Stafford's execution?"

With tears staining her pale cheeks, hands clinched at her chest, she finally tilted her head upwards and shook it in reply.

"No," the redhead breathes heavily. "No, it was before. It was the reason he was with me in my rooms. He was..." she stopped mid-sentence, noticing the expression on his face before she chose her next words. "He was tending to me."

"So, Stafford knew? Before I did?"

"He was kind!"

"He was a dog!" Henry barks indignantly, breaking yet another goblet during his verbal rampage. "It was his _duty_ to _tell_ me and he _kept_ it from me!" Seconds later, the King's fury somehow formed into a giddy smile. "I'm glad I took his head." The Queen could not believe her ears. "Hey, maybe I should take yours, too."

Despite her tears and sorrow, Catherine was boiling with rage. She knew that whatever love they once shared was now gone. Death, at this point, would be a release. It would be a welcomed paradise to the hell she had been forced to endure under Henry's cruel regime all these years.

"Then do it!" she challenges him. "It could not cause me more pain than I feel from you this moment!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" he sneers, stepping away from her again. "To be reunited with your _noble_ duke and rid of me?"

"He loved me! Edward showed more loyalty in that one act of kindness than you have shown me since the day we were married!"

"How dare you speak to me that way! I am still the King!"

"Do whatever you want to me, Henry. Banish me, kill me, curse me! I do not care anymore! It will not change what your friend did or how he felt about me. No, I will go to my grave knowing that Lord Stafford is waiting for me on the other side. Will anyone be able to say the same for you?"


End file.
